Introduction Finding a decent mid-tower case for around $50 is a pretty monumental task. I’ve done lots of budget builds for other people and every time, I’m given a budget of the aforementioned price or less. As a building enthusiast, I’ve found it difficult to find something that will have decent airflow, spacious quarters and fans that don’t have those ugly molex connectors. Needless, to say LIAN LI is a welcomed entry in this sector of the market. LIAN LI is known for the exceptional build quality of their cases. The PC-K5X will have to cut some corners, but having 3 pin connectors on the included fans is already a good sign. While this case isn’t the typical aluminum material we’ve grown accustomed to, there’s still many areas a case like this can shine when you look at some other budget options. We’ll need to take a full review approach to see how they do, but before we do that, let’s look at a statement from a company that seems a bit new to budget options. Lian Li Industrial Co., LTD was founded in 1983. We are one of the largest and most reputable manufacturer of aluminium PC case in Taiwan. With over twenty years of experience in the computer products field, our dedicated team of engineers, production specialists and administrative staff provide the finest quality accessories available on the market. In 1993, Lian-Li Introduced the new lines of computer hardware, including bracket ( for case & interface...

Introduction Please don’t hate me, but I’m going to mention the fact of how many gaming mice there are right now. With that out of the way, there are so many gaming mice around right now, it’s getting real hard to do something that is truly innovative in the market right now. That’s where the Rival 500 comes into play. They’ve redesigned the thumb area on this mouse to do something that is quite unique for the industry and while some of their designs are already unique, STEELSERIES could really be on to something for MMO/RPG gamers. We’ll take a closer look at the mouse shortly, but here’s a quick refresher course on the core values of STEELSERIES. WE ARE GAMING SteelSeries has fueled the gaming industry by creating innovative new products, designed specifically for eSports and passionate gamers everywhere. RELENTLESS INNOVATION Here at SteelSeries, we are obsessed with “firsts”. Dating back to 2001, our company was formed to meet the surface needs of hardcore gamers by introducing the first glass mousepad, the Icemat. Since that original innovation, we created the first mechanical gaming keyboard, the first suspended headband for gaming headsets, the first World of Warcraft mouse and endless other innovations. SteelSeries is dedicated to building products that push professional gaming further than anyone dreamed. Those innovations make gaming more competitive and more fun for gamers everywhere. INSPIRING DESIGN Our fans, cust...

It’s that time of year again! Scary movies, trick’r’treating, costumes, candy corn, and a review done by a guy dressed as a Star Wars Character? You probably already saw the review for the NZXT S340 Elite VR ready case, but I bet you’ve never seen it like this. If you ever wondered how Kylo Ren would handle building a PC, then check out the video below. You can probably already guess, but the Hardware Hound reviews what makes the S340 Elite great. Happy Halloween!!!

Introduction Alright, everyone! Let’s give a cheer for VR! When I say “V,” you say “R!” Ready? V!!!! ……. Admittedly, cheers work much better in person than in writing, but this doesn’t diminish the hype that went into the Virtual Reality launches earlier this year. The only problem is that sales didn’t reflect the hype that went into how great everything was supposed to be. Many factors may have attributed and while most are speculation, high prices for VR headsets seems to be the biggest obstacle to major adoption for the fledgling technology. There’s also the fact that people like me will never buy into VR because the motion sickness was real when I got to try my hand at it. That being said, it’s still pretty likely that VR will be a big deal soon enough. What Oculus and HTC managed to pull off is a great step towards an eventual widespread adoption. Even if it’s a bit slower to take off than expected, hardware manufacturers will probably put themselves in a good position if they have VR components ready for when consumers start really jumping on the bandwagon. In that light, NZXT has released a new VR ready case. The S340 Elite is more of an update from the notable S340 than a new release, but that didn’t stop them from making a great case for those who don’t have VR as well. In fact, adapting a previous design is a very smart way to prepare for changes at a minimal risk. We’ll...

Introduction Fan controllers aren’t quite as essential as they used to be. Even just a few years back, you almost needed to have one if you had more than 3 or 4 fans in your case. Today, we see numerous cases coming with their own controllers, or adding a nice compact hub in the cable management space. That can make it tough on fan controllers today, but a nice display can really add a lot to the look of the front of your case. We have a nice looking one from LAMPTRON today that comes in 3 different colors. We’ll get into the details soon, but first, here’s a quick word about a company you might not have heard much about. Don’t let that fool you though because they seem to know their way around the fan controller market. Lamptron develops and markets the next generation of high performance computer peripherals using the latest technology that enables a new level of interaction between the end-user and their personal computer. Products developed are through a combination of proprietary technology, innovation and ergonomic industrial design. There are three principal business sectors: PC Gaming products PC Silence products PC Modding products Products are designed and developed by our experienced Research and Development Department.Our engineering and R&D staffs specialize in user analysis, material control and industry design. Lamptron not only has expertise in product easy-to-use and product design, but we also plays a vital role in the enhan...

Introduction I’m no Disney Princess, but I can officially say dreams come true. From the moment I saw the first Captain series of CPU coolers, I’ve dreamt of getting my hands on one. Well, that’s become reality now and we even have the upgraded version to put through the paces this time around. The Captain already did an excellent job of changing the way we look at CLCs, but the EX series adds some great aesthetic improvements to really top the look off. The only thing left to find out is if there’s some good performance behind those fancy looks. DEEPCOOL is the parent company behind the GAMER STORM branding. The last time we took a look at one of their products was with an air cooler almost three years ago. Needless to say, they’ve come a long way since then. I love talking about the Captain series, but GAMER STORM has numerous products that look completely awesome and you should certainly check out what they have to offer. We’ll begin looking closer at the Captain 240EX right after seeing a quick word from the company themselves. Company Info Deepcool was founded with the mission of providing the best performance and humanized thermal solutions for worldwide customers. Established in 1996, headquartered in Beijing, factory was established in Shen Zhen, Deepcool originally produced desktop, server coolers and cooling accessories. With the rapid development of personal computers, Deepcool expanded the business into AIO liquid cooling pr...

How does a freelance writer keep up with everything happening in the industry when he has a full time job, a family, reviews to keep up with and a puppy in training? It’s worth pointing out that a lot has happened in the month of September this year. AMD has been making announcements about Zen, INTEL has had some details about Kaby Lake and NVIDIA is talking about the GTX 1050. Rather than try to keep up with every piece of news as it releases, we’re going to try something new by having a once a month update to catch you up on the things that are happening in the industry. Welcome to the PureOC Monthly News! On the last Friday of each month, we’ll pull together all the news that feels relevant and give a one stop location to get your info from. So without further ado, let’s get into what’s happened this month. CPUs, Motherboards and Chipsets AMD Zen, Grey Hawk, X370 Chipset and A12-9800 We’ll start with AMD this time around since much of the anticipation of what will happen in the CPU sector relies on them. We got some more detailed shots of the new Zen chip and the 1331 pin design is confirmed. As far as new info is concerned though, we didn’t get much this month for that. The A12-9800 on the other hand had some very interesting leaks. Some performance scores showed up and even though the new AM4 chip is still using Steamroller cores, it has some reasonable improvements. What was really interesting was an overclocking result. So...

Introduction We’re bringing STEELSERIES back to the forefront again, but this time we have a headset to review instead of a mouse and keyboard combo. Even though this company is new to PureOC, they impressed us with some excellent quality and exceptional software. However, sound is a completely different playing field compared to input peripherals. The Siberia 350 has a lot of competition to stand up against so we better take a long hard look at how it does in person. We’ll get right into it soon, after a quick word from the manufacturer. WE ARE GAMING SteelSeries has fueled the gaming industry by creating innovative new products, designed specifically for eSports and passionate gamers everywhere. RELENTLESS INNOVATION Here at SteelSeries, we are obsessed with “firsts”. Dating back to 2001, our company was formed to meet the surface needs of hardcore gamers by introducing the first glass mousepad, the Icemat. Since that original innovation, we created the first mechanical gaming keyboard, the first suspended headband for gaming headsets, the first World of Warcraft mouse and endless other innovations. SteelSeries is dedicated to building products that push professional gaming further than anyone dreamed. Those innovations make gaming more competitive and more fun for gamers everywhere. INSPIRING DESIGN Our fans, customers and professional eSports teams demand the ultimate performance from SteelSeries. We combine the necessity of professional-grade quality ...

Introduction Alright, everyone! I think I’m getting over the fact that there’s a massive surge of unstoppable gaming mice that are overrunning the planet right now. My anxiety levels are calming down a bit. In that light, I proudly bring to you yet another mouse review. At least this time, we have a different manufacturer from my previous reviews so we can see how well they play their hand at entering one of the most crowded markets in the existence of PC hardware. NIXEUS may not be a name you’ve heard of, but they seem to be on the right track with many of their releases. We’ll see if the Revel Gaming Mouse meets expectations, but let’s tune into a brief statement about the company first. Established 2009 in Los Angeles, California – Nixeus Technology is an American company, brand and manufacturer specializing in computer monitors, peripherals and consumer electronics. Our products are trusted and used by Fortune 500 companies, Financial Institutions, Universities, NASA, and various government agencies. Founded by executives with extensive knowledge and experience in the consumer electronics and PC gaming industry – we are committed to producing premium quality products to create an immersive experience for entertainment, business and productive applications. If you’d like a further break down, follow the link here to see more about NIXEUS.

Introduction Wait! Where’s the Zen chips already? Just keep being patient a little longer because the new architecture is coming soon enough. On top of that, Zen isn’t going to replace every budget range when it first releases. Unless AMD has a surprise up their sleeves, we can only expect Zen to target the high-end at first. In the mean time, Piledriver chips will still be filling the other budget slots until the rest of Zen arrives. Today, we’re going to take a look at the FX-6350 and see how it does. Some of you may be thinking that the 6350 has been beaten to death in reviews and that would be pretty close to accurate. However, we do have the new Wraith Cooler bundled with this chip so that will give us a little bit of a new angle to look at. The other thing we want to do differently is abandon the stock clocks. This is Pure Overclock! Who needs stock clocks anymore? Seriously though, the FX-6350 has been around long enough that we have a great idea of how it performs, even overclocked. This will be more of a review in seeing how well the Wraith Cooler does in comparison to some other slightly heftier coolers. We’ll get into those details in a bit so sit back and enjoy a quick word about the philosophy driving AMD. At AMD, we live our core values through our actions. This helps drive our business. Being a socially and environmentally responsible business is an important part of AMD’s culture – The AMD Way. We believe that our employees are m...

Introduction I want to point this intro in another direction. I really do! But there’s just SO many gaming mice!!! I’m beginning to think it’s easier to start a mouse company than it is to become a debt buyer. A quick look through Amazon will tell you I’m not over-exaggerating. However, this many options isn’t a bad thing. While there can be a lot of bad products to sort through, this can also help a buyer find exactly what they want. In reviewing several mice recently, I’ve noticed that each one has the tiniest little differences that can be a huge deal for the way it feels. DREAM MACHINES is at it again with the DM1 Pro S Gaming Mouse. They included a Pixart 3360 optical sensor this time and having used it in other mice, I can already say it’s a welcome addition. DREAM MACHINES is likely a name you haven’t heard of, so here’s a little bit of info about their company. Dream Machines specializes in providing the best solutions for gamers. We wanted to create something that would fulfill the needs of even the most demanding players. Many gamers cannot reach their potential as they a limited by hardware, such as a slow processor or weak graphics card. Our computers make sure that each gamer can reach his or her highest abilities, by offering our customers the most advanced equipment available on the market. Dream Machines is working with the top designers, experts, and manufacturers from around the world. Dream Machines...

Introduction If you don’t own an SSD by now, you really should. Nothing is quite as satisfying as seeing Windows boot up in mere seconds, versus the half a minute or more it sometimes takes with traditional hard disk drives. Solid State used to be pretty pricey, but it seems like those prices are dropping every day making good drives much easier for any consumer to get their hands on. CRUCIAL is a company that may get overlooked when it comes to some of the other juggernauts in the industry. However, they seem to have a good range of drives that perform decently while being at a reasonable price. Today, we’ll see how the MX300 with 750GB of capacity measures up, but before we do, here’s a quick section from CRUCIAL’s site that tell us a little bit about them. Expertise is Crucial We live and breathe memory and storage, but it’s not just a work thing. We build our own rigs, geek out over new technology, and game as soon as we’re off the clock. We’re constantly learning, and we like jumping on the forums to answer your questions just as much as we enjoy walking you through the install process so you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Compatibility is Crucial With more than 100,000 products on the market, memory and storage used to be notoriously hard to buy. But when you use our System Scanner or Crucial Advisor tool, years of compatibility research are at your fingertips. In just three questions, we’ll learn enough about your system t...